In this way the focus moves from outlasting existence with immortal acts and words, to the poets who embrace the passing moment. This seems like a rather quaint notion. Yet, while it does produce profound pieces, it also gives us some of the most childishly hedonistic poems of the anthology. These are a personal favorite. They tend to argue that since the only promised reality is the moment in the face of inescapable death there is but one reasonable solution: Drink!

"Drink and get drunk with me Melanippos. Why do you suppose

that when you have crossed great Acheron's

eddying stream you will see the sun's pure light

again? But come, do not aim at things so great."

(Alcaeus, Fr. 38a, Lines 1-4)

Someone familiar with Alcaeus would reasonably contend that he needs little excuse to write about drinking. Indeed, as a writer whose works were often sung in the symposium (a type of intellectual drinking party) Alcaeus could connect wine to nearly any subject. However, in this same fragment he concludes with a bit broader call: "Now if ever, while youth is ours, we must accept whatever of these things God gives us to experience..." (Lines 11-12). Of course, the things "to experience" in this particular verse are the fruits of Dionysius. Yet, in this somewhat humorous seed lies the kernel of the last Greek solution to the problem of death: enjoy the moment, as best can be managed. Theognis writes,

"Let us devote our hearts to merriment and feasting

while the enjoyment of delights still brings pleasure.

For quick as thought does radiant youth pass by,

nor does the rush of horses prove to be swifter

When carrying their master to the labor of men's spears

with furious energy"

(Theognis, Lines 983-988)

The allusion to horses rushing warriors to battle makes a subtle point. Whether by the wars of Callinus or the simple passage of time, your youth will be gone soon. Still, Theognis does not believe pursuit of glory is how that youth should be spent. Instead, he preaches pleasure. We should raise a glass for the good things we have while we still have them. This is the hedonism that Pindar managed to sidestep.

The critic of this interpretation might call the fragment tongue in cheek. Much like the modern phrase "YOLO", perhaps Theognis is simply being ironic. Yet, a kernel of belief lies within most jokes. Here the kernel is that the moment is all that is promised. It should be esteemed above any potential future glory.

An obvious issue with this philosophy is suffering. What are we to do when the present is tormenting? We might assume that hope is the proper balm for our wounds in such circumstances. But it is not obvious that optimism is a virtue in Greece. After all, it was no accident that Pandora's box of ills contained hope. Semonides can help us better understand this perspective:

"My son, loud-sounding Zeus holds final power

over all things that are and arranges them as he wishes.

Understanding is not within men's grasp; from day to day

they live like animals, in no way knowing

how god will bring each thing to fulfillment.

But hope and confidence encourage all of them

as they set their thoughts on unachievable things."

(Semonides, Fr. 1, Lines 1-7)

Greeks are too rational for hope. Man's fortunes are at the mercy of Zeus, whose intentions cannot be known. The hope that men hold onto is that of a fool grasping at "unachievable things." Semonides goes on to sardonically remark that "there is no one of mortals who does not think that next year he will become a friend to wealth and good things." He then goes on to list various miserable ways in which a man might die. The juxtaposition is the message: Every day men die still hoping for a better life. If we accept this we might learn not to "love our misfortunes, nor torment ourselves by keeping our hearts fixed on our grievous ills."

This is in stark contrast to the motivation of the athlete or the warrior. Their operating principle is that through some combination of effort and bravery they can achieve not only an improved position, but also an eternal remembrance. Where Semonides's fatalism encourages apathy in the face of difficulty, the way of the athlete or warrior calls on one to lean into it. Thereby, they might find a path out of their misery. A society needs a good portion of people following the latter philosophy to function. Yet, there is no shortage of adherents to Semonides's camp in ancient Greece.

This is reminiscent of a Greek saying which Herodotus attributes to Solon. I will paraphrase it: "Do not call someone happy until they are dead." The neutrality of this statement should not be taken for optimism. It is typically only used when one finds success to remind them that the future is still perilously beyond their control.

This world view is closer to Greek reality than the aspiring athletes and soldiers might want to believe. For instance, Themistokles, the great Athenian hero of the Persian wars, is eventually ostracized from the city he fought to defend. Socrates for all his musings is put to death by his fellow citizens. Even Croesus, the Lydian king to whom Solon presumably made the original assertion, eventually finds himself on an execution pyre at the hands of the Persian Ruler, Cambyses. Understandably, Simonides warns not to predict "when you see a prosperous man, how long he will be so" (Simonides, Fr. 521). Greek life is rarely a linear rise or fall.

Ultimately, this school of thought ends with a bit of a disappointment. It is so rationalistic and blunt about provable reality that it provides nothing for the typical adherent to turn to when bearing tragedy. A pilgrim on this path would not be judged for staying with Alcaeus for a life of drinking. Much like modern atheism, for the real burdens in life the only offerings here are somewhat vague platitudes.Simonides writes,

"One thing the Chian poet said very well indeed:

'like the generation of leaves is the generation of men'

Yet few among mortals who hear this with their ears

lay it away in their hearts for each man has Hope,

Hope which grows by nature in the hearts of the young.

So long as a man possesses the much-desired flower of youth

his spirit is light and foolish, and he thinks to no purpose;

for he has no expectation of growing old or of dying,

nor, while he is healthy, does he entertain thoughts of pain.

Childish and vain are those who think thus and do not know

how brief is the time of youth and life

for mortals. But you, heed what I say as you move toward life's boundary:

stand firm in endurance, taking delight in all good things."

(Simonides, Eleg 19 + 20)

Understandably, we have returned to Homer, the "Chian poet." It seems his musings on the passing generations had quite the impact. Yet, after reading Simonides's work it is no surprise that "few among mortals" heed his warning. This poems is not a circumstantial denial of "Hope." It is an aggravated assault on it. The young and healthy reader is forced to confront pain, and the "expectation of growing old or of dying." The only comfort that is offered in exchange for this disheartening reality is the wisdom to "stand firm in endurance, taking delight in all good things." That is little comfort.